When desire sets you free…control is a matter of perception.
I'm Devin Hill.
Darkness taints my soul.
I'm suffocating. Drowning.
The sweet promise of air? Pure illusion.
Tested as a genius at age seven, I hide my emotions, become what they expect...bury my secrets. At nineteen, I trudge toward a predestined path, blinders on, heart safeguarded.
Until I dare to be wild.
Until Alec Marquez crashes into my world.
Until all that follows redefines everything I've ever known.
What happens when you stumble into a world of spies...and discover you belong there?
3.5 - 4 Adventurous Stars
The Espionage Effect is a standalone (but there will more than likely be a series) and it’s my first book by Kat and Stone Bastion. I will admit, I was pulled by the cover and mysterious blurb. I’m a mega fan of suspenseful romances and the more mysterious it is, even better.
This reminds me a bit of Elle Kennedy’s Killer Instinct series. A lot goes on, there’s some romance and plenty of action.
Devin is on vacation with her friend Anna. Devin promised Anna she would find a guy and a have a fling with. Who doesn’t want to do that on vacation? She runs into Alec, the sexy Latin. Devin is not your typical Heroine. She’s gifted and a bit quirky. I’m okay with quirk, kind of reminds me of the leading lady in The Will by Kristen Ashley. Dev says random things and it doesn’t make sense all the time, but I get it, it’s her personality to say random facts and understand complicated things.
Alec is the random guy that runs into Dev’s life. Alec hides out in Dev’s hotel room after getting grazed by a bullet. Dev helps treats his wounds and then proceeds to have dirty times with Alec. It’s kind of funny, but the insta-lust was hard and fast. Don’t get me wrong, if a sexy guy comes into my hotel room, sure, I’ll take off my panties and let him have his way with me too. It was kind of fast, but I’m not opposed to the steam.
Alec and Dev have an interesting relationship. They go from strangers to two-people-now –interested-in-each-other’s-lives kind of relationship. Alec is scouting a house to obtain information, he researching for his next mission. He’s kind of like CIA, but from another secret organization. He tells Dev all of this, like she’s part of the team. I love it when the Hero and Heroine are upfront with each other, but even though Dev doesn’t trust Alec completely, it seems that Alec does.
Dev does have her own demons. Something happened in the past and it has left her really torn up. She gets paranoid easily and difficult situations make her anxious. It just adds another layer to the story. Both Dev and Alec are intelligent and it’s not the usually flowery romance verbiage I’m use to reading. I eventually got use to it.
“But it’s more with me. I’m trained to read others down to the slightest nuance. It’s a gift I have and excel at in greater degree than anyone they’ve ever tested. I’m both a human life detector and a fairly accurate predictor of someone’s future actions – with varying percentages of certainty – based on their past actions”
The book kind of borderlines fantasy because there are certain situations where it’s unrealistic, like super injections and deadly virus that could end all humanity. I’m a fan of fantasy and it kind of added a little something to the story. But I should clarify that this is not a fantasy book, it just reminds of it.
“The urge hadn’t been there until I’d met this mysterious man who’d stumbled into my world. But now I became acutely aware that what we did, who he was, was something I’d yearned to do… to be… for a very time.”
Alec has a past too and Dev emphasizes with him. They continue to connect and Dev wants to help Alec on his next mission, even though she isn’t trained. Usually these action pack books are low on the romance, but this one doesn’t disappoint. Alec and Dev have crazy sexual chemistry and obviously want each other. I liked that Alec kind of pushes Dev. He makes her relax and enjoy herself. He is very dominate and controls every situation.
“Whatever his mission had originally been, I’d become a part of it. Pink to his Spud-Watson to his Sherlock”
Overall, it’s a lengthy novel and at times it’s a bit descriptive, but that is a personal preference. Also, I felt like the book was above me and let’s just say I’m not good with technical words. I like the action / suspenseful part of the read and the parts where Dev and Alec become closer together. The ending kicks up a notch and things move quickly. I kept on asking myself what was going to happen next.
If you like detailed steamy action pack, mystery/suspense novels, then his one is for you.
“My future lie in the dark shadows of espionage”
An ARC was provided
PURCHASE
Kat and Stone Bastion’s bestselling first novel No Weddings and the No Weddings series were named Best of 2014 by several romance review blogs.
When not defining love and redemption through scribed words, they enjoy spending their time mountain biking and hiking in the beautiful Sonoran Desert of Arizona.
Stay in touch with them on their social media pages:
Kat's Twitter: twitter.com/KatBastion
Stone's Twitter: twitter.com/StoneBastion
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